Hello :)
I used to ride when I was little probably from the age of 9 until 13, I was never classed as an experienced rider, I had some lessons had my own pony but it was mainly hacking, so only learnt walk trot canter and as I started to learn jumping my family had to move to the horses had to get sold. But now I am 21 and looking to gat back into it! Am I mad ? Im worried that people will think im rubbish. And not sure where to start, a few of my friends family friends have horses bu ti don't want to pester them so I think im going to book myself in at the only riding stables where I live ! I will ride for the 1st time in about 8 years !!! :) just looking for some encuragement and advice on starting again I think :)

No your not mad :) I rode on and off till the age of 12. Then had a hack or two on holidays when I was 14-15. I'v recently taken it back up at the age of 20, first went on a hack with my bf on his family friends horses and then joined the equestrian club at my university. I hadn't done any jumping till I joined the uni club. I don't think it's ever too late to start or start again.

Just go to a local stables and explain you used to hack out a lot and have horses when you were a kid and want to get back into it, they will have had loads of people who have been in the same situation.

There are a lot of people in your same situation. Look for a facility that offers lessons close by. Tell them what you did, although seeing it was 8 years ago, they'll probably start you from the beginning. Don't worry about what others think and say; as long as you enjoy it, that is all that matters.

Howdy and welcome to the forum . You're not crazy for wanting to get back into it. The wonderful thing about the horse world is that it doesn't matter what your age or experience level is, there is a horse to fit you.

I also advise you look around your area for a lesson barn. If you can find one that caters to beginners and also happens to coach the discipline that you ultimately want to do, all the better. If you can't find one like that, though, just start out with one that teaches all the basics then you can move to a more specialized barn later on.

I second what others have said. It's never too late to get back into horses. One of my newest students is a re-rider that rode as a kid and is now close to 60. I love beginner adult students, they listen better, try harder and go with the flow. Lessons are a great place to start. You can get back into the swing of things without the cost of ownership. Then one day when you might be thinking of your own you will be more prepared.

I started taking lessons at 9, got my own horse at 12, sold him out for a boyfriend, and started taking lessons again at 32. Bought a horse and have owned him for a year now. It is never too late to start again.

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the The Horse Forum forums, you must first register.

Already have a Horse Forum account?
Members are allowed only one account per person at the Horse Forum, so if you've made an account here in the past you'll need to continue using that account. Please do not create a new account or you may lose access to the Horse Forum. If you need help recovering your existing account, please Contact Us. We'll be glad to help!

New to the Horse Forum?Please choose a username you will be satisfied with using for the duration of your membership at the Horse Forum. We do not change members' usernames upon request because that would make it difficult for everyone to keep track of who is who on the forum. For that reason, please do not incorporate your horse's name into your username so that you are not stuck with a username related to a horse you may no longer have some day, or use any other username you may no longer identify with or care for in the future.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.

Old Thread Warning

This thread is more than 90 days old. When a thread is this old, it is often better to start a new thread rather than post to it. However, If you feel you have something of value to add to this particular thread, you can do so by checking the box below before submitting your post.I am aware that this is an old thread and I want to revive it rather than starting a new thread.